Author: Nahapetian Lilit

CITIZENS ARE CONCERNED OVER YEREVAN STREETS

A1+
04 February, 2008

Our citizens are concerned over the inconsolable state of the capital
streets and the garbage dumped here and there. Yerevan citizen Arsen
Torossian sent us a letter this morning with photos.

"Long live Arabkir, the cleanest commune of Armenia or an open dump
under the sky," the author began his letter with these words.

Arsen Torossian says at this tense pre-election period public services
should do their utmost "to please citizens and gain their confidence."

"The head of the commune is probably busy with other "important things"
therefore he neglects his duties.

The authorities had better scavenge streets instead of forcing schools
and nursery schools to attend meetings," Arsen Torossian says.

To remind, one can come across presidential contender Serzh
Sarkissian’s posters at every step in Arabkir.

The Prime Minister had a meeting with the Arabkir voters on February 2.

‘DEEP STATE PLOT’ GRIPS TURKEY
By Sarah Rainsford

BBC News
7225889.stm
2008/02/04 11:41:47 GMT
Istanbul

It is a story that has set Turkey abuzz with rumour and speculation.

At its heart is an ultra-nationalist gang known as Ergenekon, exposed
when 33 of its alleged members were seized in a police raid in late
January.

The claims widely reported in the Turkish press ever since read like
a thriller.

They allege the gang was plotting to bring down the government.

It is claimed their plan was to assassinate a string of Turkish
intellectuals, including Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, fomenting chaos
and provoking a military intervention in 2009.

When the Cold War ended those structures [illicit paramilitary gangs]
went out of business, but they still existed Cengiz Candar Turkish
newspaper columnist

A "menu" of targets had already been drawn up and a hitman hired when
the police swooped, according to the daily Hurriyet.

Sabah newspaper linked the gang to the recent murder of three
Protestant Christians and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

Those details – apparently leaked by police – have never been
officially confirmed.

The lawyers of several of the accused told the BBC only that their
clients have been charged under Article 313 of the penal code for
inciting armed revolt against the government.

Those still detained include retired Brig Gen Veli Kucuk, an alleged
mafia boss and an ultra-nationalist lawyer who provoked numerous
prosecutions against prominent Turkish writers and intellectuals –
including Mr Pamuk – for "insulting Turkishness".

‘Deep state’

A brief statement at the outset linked the arrests to a raid in
Istanbul last June. A large cache of hand grenades and explosives was
discovered; then and a number of former military personnel detained.

The Turkish military is not a criminal organisation Gen Buyukanit
Turkish army chief-of-staff

There have been no further formal statements about the gang, or
their plot.

But that has not stopped the Ergenekon affair making top "news"
for almost two weeks.

>From the start, this operation has been portrayed as a blow against
the "deep state" – which explains the excitement.

It is a term widely used to describe renegade members of the security
forces said to act outside the law in what they judge to be Turkey’s
best interests.

The phenomenon, much-discussed but never proven, is said to stretch
back to Cold War times, when illicit paramilitary gangs were supposedly
set up in collaboration with Western intelligence agencies to prevent
the spread of communism.

"When the Cold War ended those structures went out of business,
but they still existed," claims newspaper columnist Cengiz Candar,
who has no doubt a "deep state" exists.

"Then the threat changed. The target became Kurdish insurgents or
Asala," an Armenian militant organisation that targeted Turkish
diplomats, he says.

For ultra-nationalists today the threats to Turkey include EU
accession, Armenian genocide allegations and any talk of a peace deal
to end the 24-year-old Kurdish insurgency.

‘Under watch’

In 1996, many Turks’ suspicions of a "deep state" were confirmed when
a car crashed in the town of Susurluk. Inside were a senior police
chief, a prominent politician and a wanted assassin.

"Susurluk revealed weird connections between state officials and those
who operate outside the limits of the law. It happened at a time when
we had a lot of extra-judicial killings in Turkey," Mr Candar explains.

"But the investigation stopped just as there was speculation it was
reaching very sensitive spots, even the military establishment. That
only confirmed the existence of these networks in the public
consciousness."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan clearly has his own suspicions.

He used the same "deep state" terminology to describe the police
operation against Ergenekon.

"These gangs are not new in our country. Our aim is to get rid of
them. We see gangs in the most important institutions. People who
once worked in these institutions join these organisations," Sabah
quoted Mr Erdogan saying, immediately after the initial arrests.

Praising the police raids, he added: "There is a deep Turkey working
against the deep state. This prevents them [the gangs] being as active
as they once were."

If the prime minister has proof linking Ergenekon members to active
security officials, it has yet to be revealed.

"I think the government moved now to dirty these peoples’ names and
reputations. It’s a warning that they’re under watch," believes Irfan
Bozan, who is following the story for the privately-owned NTV 24-hour
news channel.

Army rebuttal

Mr Bozan also raises the possibility the operation is part of a
continuing power struggle between a government led by devout Muslims
and a staunchly secular military.

"At first it does look like an attempt to crack down on the deep state
at last. But this is not a real challenge to those forces. This is
an attack on those who are anti-government," Mr Bozan suggests.

Still, the chief-of-staff of Turkey’s army was concerned enough by
the suggestion the military might be tied to Ergenekon to issue a
public rebuttal.

"The Turkish military is not a criminal organisation," Gen Buyukanit
told journalists last week, apparently washing his hands of the
accused.

"Military members who commit crimes are punished by the courts. It
is wrong to try to link such incidents to the military as a whole,"
he said.

As the prosecutors gather their evidence the country is gripped,
awaiting the next revelation, the next headline and the denouement.

After years of "deep state" rumours, many see the Ergenekon case as
a real test of the government’s will to dig deep and expose any ties
between illicit gangs and the state. If they do really exist.

Experimental Malta beaten by Armenia in opening match

by SILVIO VELLA

MALTA 0

ARMENIA 1

Malta: M. Muscat, S. Bajada, B. Said, A. Xuereb, G.
Agius (S. Wellman), R. Briffa, E. Barbara (P.
Pullicino), I. Woods (A. Cohen), G. Mallia (C.
Frendo), R. Fenech (G. Sciberras), R. Bajada (K.
Scicluna)

Armenia: M. Azizyan, K. Dokhoyan, R. Arzumanyan, A.
Tadeosyan (H. Mkhitaryan), A. Lazarian, A. Arakelyan
(K. Alexanyan), A. Voskanyan, L. Pachayvan (K.
Lazarian), V. Minasyan, G. Ghazaryan, (A. Hakobyan)
S. Melkonyan (N.Sahakyan)

Referee: M. Porisson (Iceland) Asst.refs: K. Borg, A.
Camilleri 4th official: A. Kulbacov

Scorers: A. Hakobyan

Malta did not make the best of starts to this 14th
edition of the International Tournament, going down to
modest Armenia with a goal conceded in the second
half, after a promising opening and a creditable first
half.

The match also failed to attract the crowds at Ta’
Qali, perhaps because of the Carnival festivities in
Valletta, and even the noisy and colourful support of
the Southend Core was missing, with the game being
played against a near-silent backdrop.

Truly, Malta was not at full strength, fielding some
new and other inexperienced faces on this first of a
three-day tournament, but yesterday our national team
lacked the required aggression and punch up front to
penetrate the opponents’defence although going close
on some occasions. They also appeared short of
creative options, especially after falling behind.

Coach Fitzel, as promised, effected no fewer than six
substitutions, putting in all players on the bench,
except reserve keeper Hogg. That may have unbalanced
tactics in the second half as Malta produced a better
performance in the first 45 minutes.

Malta’s experimental side, was bereft of our
foreign-based players and included two debutants in
the first half, Hamrun’s Ryan Fenech and Marsaxlokk’s
Shaun Bajada. While the former played in midfield,
alongside George Mallia, Ivan Woods and Roderick
Bajada, Shaun Bajada was deployed as one of the back
four on the left. Sliema’s Roderick Briffa played as
full back on the right with Aaron Xuereb, making only
his third international appearance, flanking Brian
Said as the two central defenders.

Captain Gilbert Agius played in a deep unusual
position, in front of the defence, while Etienne
Barbara was Malta’s only forward.

The Maltese played some good flowing football and
looked good with possession for the first 45 minutes,
during which they traded equal punches with their
opponents although real goalmouth action remained at a
premium for a tepid first half hour.

Barbara showed mobility with his runs up front but
found little support as he was left to plough a lone
furrow.

The first shot on target came just past the half hour
as Roderick Bajada connected on Barbara’s cross but
the goalkeeper saved well.

Shortly after, another Agius effort earned Malta a
corner and then Barbara fell when he came in contact
with Arakelyan inside the area but the referee was not
impressed.

With half time looming, Armenia grew dangerous.
Pachajyan foraged down the right flank and sent a
teasing cross which Agius blocked and keeper Muscat
had to rush out to intercept the high ball before
Ghazaryan could connect. And on the stroke of
halftime, Melkonyan’s shot clipped the bar.

Malta introduced Cohen and Frendo for Woods and Mallia
at the start of the second half. Before the hour,
Fenech was clear, capitalising on an opponent’s slip
but instead of going for goal himself he opted to pass
the ball and the chance went to waste.

A Barbara effort took a deflection into a corner as
Malta kept up the initiative against organised
opponents, who improved in the second half.

On 69 minutes, Malta suffered a setback. Melkonyan,
one of Armenia’s best players, started the movement
which led to Armenia’s goal as he went inside the
Malta area with ease. Muscat rushed out to block at
his feet, lost the ball and after substitute
Hakobyan’s first effort was blocked by Bajada, he
picked the rebound and placed the ball beyond Muscat’s
reach.

Malta looked shell shocked and the goal visibly sapped
the wind out of their sails.

However they still summoned some effort to move
forward, after Barbara and Agius had gone out and
Malta continued to make more substitutions, although
they lacked genuine conviction.

After substitute Gareth Sciberras put a header off
target, Malta came closest to drawing level in the
late stages when Armenia looked uncomfortable on some
Malta pressure and conceded a corner, kicked by Frendo
and headed narrowly wide by another substitute,
Kenneth Scicluna.

But by then, the early optimism had dissipated well
before the floodlights were turned off at Ta’ Qali as
Malta were unable to avoid defeat.

ARMENIAN STUDENT DIES OF STAB WOUNDS

Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union
Feb 1 2008
DC

The Armenian victim of a knife attack in Moscow on January 23 died of
his wounds in a hospital the following day, police said, according to
"The Moscow Times." Passersby found the 20-year-old student at Moscow
State Automobile and Road Technical University lying on the street at
about 9:20 p.m., Northern Administrative District police spokeswoman
Yekaterina Malyugina said. "We have no idea who attacked, or why they
attacked," she said. "We are examining all possible motives." She
declined to give the victim’s name, which Interfax reported as Vladimir
Karamzhyan. She said that the victim, who had been stabbed five times
in the upper torso, was attacked near his home and that surgeons at
City Hospital No. 50 had battled for hours to save his life. Interfax
reported that five assailants aged from 12 to 18 attacked the student,
while Regnum.ru listed as many as 20 attackers.

GAS SUPPLY CONTROL BECOMING TOUGHER IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency
Feb 1 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, February 1. /ARKA/. Gas supply control is becoming tougher,
the RA Government’s Press Service reports.

The Government has made a decision on the enhancement of the gas
supply system security.

The Government has decided to set emergency valves in multistory
buildings with abundant gas tubes and gas collectors in order to
enhance gas consumption security and reduce anthropogenic accidents.

By the RA Government’s decision, the placement of the devices is
prolonged a year. The RA Public Services Regulatory Commission is
charged to include the issue in the ArmRosGasProm Company’s investment
program 2008-2009.

Armenia had 481,300 natural gas consumers on September 1, 2007.

PACE OBSERVERS FIRST ASSESSMENT

Lragir
Feb 1 2008
Armenia

The pre-electoral mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe visited Yerevan to assess the political climate and
preparations for the upcoming Presidential Elections in Armenia. Its
main mission was to assess the progress in the implementation of the
electoral framework, as continued progress in the manner in which
the upcoming Presidential Elections in Armenia are conducted will
be essential to ensure public confidence in the electoral process in
this country.

The delegation noted that the Parliamentary Elections in 2007 had
shown progress over previous elections and expressed its hope that this
progress would continue during the upcoming Presidential Elections on
19 February 2008. It was therefore heartened by the clearly expressed
political will of the authorities to address previous shortcomings and
to hold fully democratic elections in line with Armenia’s commitments
to the Council of Europe. In this respect, the delegation welcomes the
improvements in the legal framework for these elections, which address
a number of recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly. However, it
would also like to stress that the democratic conduct of the upcoming
elections will squarely depend on the electoral framework being fully
implemented, both according to the letter and spirit of the law.

Genuinely democratic elections, and the legitimacy of their outcome
in the eyes of the people, depend on a high level of public confidence
in the electoral process. In that respect, the delegation is concerned
with the apparent lack of trust in the electoral process, including in
the impartiality of the legal complaints and appeals process, expressed
by a number of interlocutors. It therefore strongly recommends that the
authorities take all necessary measures to ensure the public confidence
in the electoral process, especially with regard to the secrecy of
the vote and the transparency of the counting and tabulation processes.

While the setup of the voting booths has been changed to impede vote
buying and multiple voting there is some concern that this may lead
to voters inadvertently showing how they voted, especially if large
numbers of people are present in the poling stations. The delegation
saw a sample voting booth and was convinced that they are designed
according to international standards. However, it calls upon the
CEC to take all precautions to ensure the secrecy of the vote
on Election Day. Moreover, while the Central Election Commission
(CEC) has made laudable efforts to increase the transparency of the
tabulation process, these measures did not work fully satisfactorily
during the previous Parliamentary Elections. The delegation hopes
that the technical problems then encountered have been overcome and
recommend that the CEC sets a minimal timeframe during which the
results protocols have to be publicly posted at the polling stations.

The Election Code ensures a balanced composition of all election
commissions, but it was noted that this balance was not reflected in
the composition of the leadership troikas of the Territorial Election
Commissions. The delegation hopes that this imbalance will not be
repeated at the level of the Precinct Election Commissions.

Democratic elections demand a level playing field between all
candidates during, but not limited to, the legal campaign period. The
delegation therefore regrets the clearly imbalanced media coverage
on most broadcast media, including public television, before the
official campaign period, as was reported by several monitoring
organisations, including by the Election Observation Mission of the
OSCE/ODIHR whose findings published in its first interim report the
delegation fully supports.

The delegation heard several complaints that the current Prime
Minister, who is a Presidential candidate, would have unfair campaign
advantages as a result of his decision to maintain his position as
Prime Minister during the campaign period. While recognising the
legality of the current Prime Minister to continue his functions
despite being a candidate, it adds to the responsibility of the
government to avoid any perception that administrative resources
are abused in favour of, or against, any particular candidate. The
delegation welcomes that, till now, the election campaign has taken
place in an open and unimpeded climate, but took note of reports
by some candidates about their difficulties in obtaining campaign
offices in some regions.

The delegation is confident that the authorities will address the
concerns of the delegation and will continue its efforts to organise
fully democratic Presidential Elections that will have the full
confidence of the Armenian people.

The delegation would like to thank the authorities for their
co-operation and assistance during this visit. The Parliamentary
Assembly will return to Armenia to observe the Presidential elections
with a 30 member delegation.

US Chess Federation (press release), TN
Jan 29 2008

Carlsen and Aronian Win Corus

By Jennifer Shahade
January 28, 2008

17-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Levon Aronian of Armenia
tied for first in the A Group of Corus Chess 2008 (Wijk aan Zee,
Jan.11-27), with 8/13 each. Their paths to victory were very
different. Carlsen had a bumpy road in the second half, including an
amazing save against Van Wely in round 9 and a loss in round 11
against Anand. He rebounded in the penultimate round against Kramnik
to rise again to the top of the scoreboard. Most of Aronian’s action
occured in the first half of the event, as his only decisive game in
the last six games was the following wild tactical win against Loek
Van Wely.

Corus Chess 2008
White: GM_Aronian
Black: GM_van_Wely

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 b5 6.c5 Nbd7 7.Bd3 e5 8.Nxe5
Nxe5 9.dxe5 Ng4 10.f4 Bxc5 11.Qf3 Qb6 12.Ke2 Nh6 13.h3 Nf5 14.g4 Ne7
15.Rb1 a5 16.e4 Bb7 17.f5 Bd4 18.exd5 Bxe5 19.Be3 Qc7 20.Rbc1 b4
21.dxc6 Bxc6 22.Ne4 Rd8 23.f6 Nd5 24.Rxc6 Qxc6 25.Rc1 Qd7 26.Nd6+
Qxd6 27.Bb5+ Kf8 28.Bc5 Nf4+ 29.Ke1 gxf6 30.Bxd6+ Rxd6 31.Rc8+ Kg7
32.Rxh8 Kxh8 33.Qb7 Kg7 34.Be8 Kh6 35.Qxf7 Ng6 36.Qb3 Nf4 37.Qg8 Rd4
38.h4 Ng2+ 39.Ke2 Nxh4 40.g5+ fxg5 41.Qe6+ 1-0

In the forced line after 24.Rxc6, Black cannot respond to 26.Nd6!
with 26…Bxd6 in view of 27.Qxd5 0-0 (Black does not have to get
mated, but he will lose quickly with his king in the center also,
especially in view of the threat Bb5.) 28.Qg5, mating.

[parts omitted

/431/

REFORMS IN ARMENIA TO BE CONTINUED – PRESIDENT

ITAR-TASS
Jan 30 2008
Russia

YEREVAN, January 30 (Itar-Tass) – Reforms in Armenia "continue and
will be continued," Armenian President Robert Kocharyan pledged at
a meeting with ambassadors from some EU states on Wednesday.

The president said the government will try to do everything so
that election processes don’t affect practical work. Focusing on
the presidential election in Armenia, due on February 19, Kocharyan
confirmed a political will of the country authorities to hold it in
line with international standards.

President Kocharyan hailed Armenia’s cooperation with the European
Union. He believes these relations and contacts have become more
coordinated. He qualified as "extremely efficient" his recent visit
to Brussels, during which concrete cooperation programs were discussed.

"We seek to hold a really fair election, and believe the presence
of international observer missions will contribute to that," the
president said when meeting with members of the PACE commission for
the election in Armenia.

SIRUSHO IN EUROVISION IN MAY 20

Panorama.am
19:15 29/01/2008

According to the results of the drawing held in Belgrade, Serbia
Armenian representative in Eurovision Sirusho makes her debut in
May 20.

Note that Armenian representative Hayko also participated in Eurovision
last year and got the right for the next participant to sing only in
the finals, whereas the rules are changed, and Sirusho should sing
in semi-finals. In sum the list of the participants of the program
is increased and the managers of the program decided to change the
rules. So there will be two semi-finals on 20 and 22 May, and the
very final concert will be on May 24, in Belgrade, Serbia.

The song Sirusho will sing in Eurovision will become known only in
March, when the TV audience will vote for only 1 song from 4 presented.

Note that it is the third time Armenia participates in
Eurovision. Andre was the first participants and the second Hayko. They
both gained 8th horizontals.

Poulsen named new Armenia coach(Reuters)
Thursday 24 January 2008

Former Singapore coach Jan Poulsen has been
appointed to lead Armenia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup’
qualifiers, the Armenian FA said on Thursday.

The much-travelled Dane, who also coached Jordan
during last year’s U-20 FIFA World Cup, replaces
Briton Tom Jones, who was sacked following Armenia’s
poor UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying campaign.

Jones took over as Armenia’s caretaker coach midway
through last year after the death of fellow Briton Ian
Porterfield.

Armenia have been drawn in European Group 5 for the
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers along with Spain,
Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia and Estonia.